Not Applicable.
The present invent on relates in general to multimedia entertainment systems, and, more specifically, to an audio multimedia player for quickly navigating between track selections contained within large playlists.
With the emergence of techniques such as MP3 for compressing digital audio files, the number of track selections (e.g., songs) stored on a single medium (e.g., a compact disc, a hard disk drive, or a flash memory card) can become very large. For example, a compact disc (CD) with a capacity of 650 megabytes can store more than 10 hours of recorded music in many hundreds of separate MP3-encoded files. The MP3 format is formally called MPEG-1 layer 3, which was adopted by the Moving Picture Experts Group jointly operated by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the International Electro-Technical Commission (IEC). A digital audio file with this encoding has a file extension of xe2x80x9cmp3xe2x80x9d. Many users are compiling extensive libraries of MP3 material for playing from their computers and from dedicated multimedia players.
Other compression technologies are also known, such as AAC, which allow many individual digital audio tracks to be stored in the same individual unit of media. Furthermore, storage capacity of various media types (such as hard disk drives) are increasing to the point where large numbers of uncompressed files can be stored and simultaneously accessible to a player.
Media players for such digital audio media must provide ways in which the user of the media player can navigate to (i.e., choose) a desired selection for reproduction. In mobile applications, such as a personal handheld unit or an automotive entertainment system, the number of user controls and/or display sizes may be limited. Due to the large number of selections that may be in a particular playlist (i.e., a grouping of audio selections active within a player), the user must be able to rapidly move within the playlist. However, ways have been lacking for fast, simple, and efficient navigation among selections using an uncomplicated interface (e.g., a small number of push buttons and a display having few character spaces).
Conventional automotive multimedia players typically include simple interfaces to facilitate use by vehicle operators Audio sources have included AM and FM radio, audio cassette apes, and CD-Audio discs. Navigating between sources and then between individual selections (e.g., tuning between radio stations, fast forwarding or rewinding a tape, or switching between the small number of tracks on an audio CD) has been achieved using only a few control elements such as pushbuttons. Typical push buttons include tune-up, tune-down, seek-up, and seek-down. Navigating sequentially through a large playlist with only the functions of these push button can be tedious and slow.
The present invention has the advantage of providing quick and easy navigation through large playlists without introducing additional control elements to an automotive multimedia player.
In one aspect of the invention, a method is provided for navigating from a current selection to a desired selection within an ordered playlist of selections for reproduction by a vehicular multimedia player. Each selection in the ordered playlist has a corresponding selection number. The vehicular multimedia player has a rotary position encoder for controlling audio volume and a plurality of push button controls. The rotary position encoder is initially-maintained in a volume adjust mode. A respective selection number of the current selection is displayed on a display. One of the push button controls is activated and the rotary position encoder is switched to a track access mode in response thereto. Rotation of the rotary position encoder is detected in either a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction. Respective selection numbers are displayed for interim selections on the display according to the detected rotation, wherein the interim selection is recurrently advanced in response to successive rotation in the clockwise direction over a predetermined resolution angle and is recurrently rolled back in response to rotation in the counterclockwise direction over the predetermined resolution angle. An absence of rotation of the rotary position encoder lasting for a first predetermined time is detected, wherein an interim selection having its selection number displayed after the first predetermined time comprises a chosen selection. The chosen selection is reproduced.